"Flight from the Shadow" by Chuang Tzu

Man Shadows.jpg

There was a man

who was so disturbed

by the sight of his own shadow

and so displeased

with his own footsteps,

that he determined to get rid of both.

The method he hit upon was

to run away from them.

So he got up and ran.

But everytime he poot his foot down

there was another step,

while his shadow kept up with him

without the slightest difficulty.

He attributed his failure

to the fact

that he was not running fast enough.

So he ran faster and faster,

without stopping,

until he finally dropped dead.

He failed to realize

that if he merely stepped into the shade,

his shadow would vanish,

and if he sat down and stayed still,

there would be no more footsteps.


SOURCE: http://www.newcastletaichi.co.uk/flight.htm

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